Over 100 graduate employees at the University of Maryland raised their voices in unison on February 24th to protest the proposed ending of tuition remission.

They assembled at 4:30 pm in front of Stamp Student Union, carrying signs that read: "hands off tuition remission", "there's no TeAching without TAs", "there's no ReseArch without RAs", and "the university works because we do!"

After a rally and march on campus, the group caravanned to the state house in Annapolis, where they reassembled on Lawyers Mall. From there, graduate employees carried their message to individual legislators and had many productive conversations about their crucial role in the university. Jeremy Sullivan, a graduate student in History, said "every time [legislators] are reminded of our opposition to this issue is another time they have to reconsider it, even if only for a moment. "

"It was great to see such a large turnout," said Hellmut Lotz, chair of GALOL's legislative action committee. "We had a big impact on the assembly." GALOL members will be following up with legislators as they continue their lobbying efforts throughout the legislative session. Jeremy urges his colleagues to "be ready to stand alongside us." To get involved, contact Hellmut at hellmut@galol.org.